The man who brought The Artist to America

Euronews

The incredible Oscar success of silent movie The Artist has got many fans wondering who is behind many of today’s most successful foreign and independent films.

American producer and distributor Harvey Weinstein brought the US rights to the French film.

When The Artist was first released, it played in just four US movie theatres. Since the Oscar hype began, that number has grown to more than 900 cinemas.

The Weinstein Company also distributed foreign films The Iron Lady, The King’s Speech and A Week With Marilyn in the US.

Weinstein and his brother Bob have a long history of introducing Americans to foreign films. They originally set up Miramax in 1979 to specialise in international and independent movies. It was eventually bought by Disney.